“That’s interesting!” in family business research

In this editorial, we consider the question "What makes family business research interesting?" to both scholars actively involved in the field, and to any other potential audience. Given the intriguing paradox represented by the survival of this form, can authors, reviewers and editors do anything to raise its profile among readers? What are current and potential audiences looking for? What key dimensions of scholarly work in family business will attract the attention of those reading and studying it, encourage its acceptance for publication, and even motivate non-family business scholars to pursue such work? In addressing these questions, we follow the lead of social scientists in other fields who have already addressed them in insightful ways (e.g., Bartunek, Rynes & Ireland, 2006; Davis, 1971). In line with these efforts, we do not provide our own definition of what makes family business research interesting. Rather, we inspect existing literature and investigate scholars’ opinions about what dimensions of family business research attract readers’ attention because they are rather exciting or unusual, prompting them to learn or hear more about it.